ULSAN — South Korean refiners have sharply increased imports of North American crude oil as instability in the Middle East disrupts global supply chains. Imports of U.S. and Canadian crude through Ulsan Port have exceeded 5 trillion won ($3.5 billion) so far this year.
North American crude arriving at Ulsan Port totaled 5.13 million tons from January through September, up 64% from 3.13 million tons a year earlier, according to data released by Ulsan Customs on the 23rd. The value of those imports doubled to 5.1487 trillion won from 2.57 trillion won. By country, U.S. crude rose 40% to 4.03 million tons from 2.88 million tons, while Canadian crude jumped 340% to 1.1 million tons from 250,000 tons.
The pace accelerated in the third quarter. North American crude imports reached 2.57 million tons in the third quarter of 2026, a 199% surge from 860,000 tons a year earlier. U.S. volumes climbed 174% to 2.14 million tons from 780,000 tons, and Canadian volumes soared 437% to 430,000 tons from 80,000 tons. The increase came as recent expansions of export infrastructure in western Canada coincided with domestic refiners' push to diversify supply sources.
The rising volumes also drove wider use of preferential tariffs under free trade agreements. All 41 import declarations for U.S. crude filed between January and September qualified under the Korea-U.S. FTA, lifting the utilization rate to 100% from 97% a year earlier.
Canadian crude, which recorded no FTA-based claims last year — none out of three declarations — saw seven of 14 declarations qualify for Korea-Canada FTA benefits this year, including four pending retroactive claims, raising the utilization rate to 50%. Canadian crude is shipped as heavy oil extracted from oil sands blended with lighter U.S. crude and other grades. That makes it necessary to carefully verify compliance with rules of origin to secure tariff benefits.
Ulsan Customs said it plans to actively guide companies on obtaining documentation to prove origin and on procedures for retroactive claims, in order to broaden FTA use for Canadian crude.
"The increase in North American crude imports reflects the trend toward supply chain diversification among domestic refiners," an Ulsan Customs official said. "We will closely monitor crude import trends and continue providing customs administration support that backs companies' use of FTAs."